Biography
Nationally recognized for her commitment toward the betterment of underserved communities in Los Angeles and beyond, Antonia Hernández joined the California Community Foundation as President and Chief Executive Officer in 2004.
Established in 1915, the California Community Foundation is one of the largest and most active philanthropic organizations in Southern California, with assets of more than $1 billion. In partnership with its more than 1,200 individual, family and corporate donors, the foundation supports nonprofit organizations and public institutions with funds for health and human services, affordable housing, early childhood education, community arts and culture and other areas of need.
Previously, Hernández was president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a national nonprofit litigation and advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of the nation's Latinos through the legal system, community education, and research and policy initiatives.
An expert in philanthropy, civil rights and immigration issues, Hernández began her legal career as a staff attorney with the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice and worked as counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary before joining MALDEF in 1981 as regional counsel in Washington, D.C.
Hernández is a trustee for the Rockefeller Foundation and a member of the boards of directors of the American Constitution Society, the national American Automobile Association, the Automobile Club of Southern California and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). She currently serves on commissions, advisory boards and committees, including the Commission on Presidential Debates, the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University, the JFK Library Foundation Profile in Courage Award Committee and UCLA School of Law Board of Advisors. She is a frequent public speaker and has been awarded a number of honorary degrees and awards.
Hernández is a member of the State Bar of California, District of Columbia Bar, American Bar Association and the Mexican American Bar Association of Los Angeles and a fellow of the American Law Institute.
Hernández earned her B.A. in History at UCLA in 1970 and J.D. at the UCLA School of Law in 1974.
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Antonia Hernandez, A.B.A.: Previous Margaret Brent Women Law. Achievement Award Recipients, https://perma.cc/FDA9-VHFF.
